


IKESORENWEEK 2021

by Mistilu



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Childhood, Childhood Memories, M/M, ikesorenweek, small mentions of other characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:08:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28555884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistilu/pseuds/Mistilu
Summary: If Soren could talk about his childhood or what he considered it was the best part of it, it was to meet Ike, and Mist, and Greil and then be part of that kind of dysfunctional family of mercenaries, but more real than any other he could have had before. Thanks to them he learnt about what a family was, also about friendship, about brothers and sisters; talk and write was the first step for him to walk into that world, but what he really understood after following Ike’s footprints was learning how to live and find a reason to do it.
Relationships: Ike/Senerio | Soren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16
Collections: IkeSoren Week 2021





	1. Remembrances of a Childhood

**Author's Note:**

> This is the second time I actually wrote something for the IkeSoren nation, but the last one was posted long time ago (years years before) so I went out of my usual agenda to participe in this wonderful first ikesoren week (or at least my first one hehe!) to add my little grain of sand to them.

_ Answer me, ¿what’s that precious memory you kept protecting inside of your heart? _   


Nostalgic emotions surrounded the air that night, the remembrances of old times that weren’t coming back since the sands of time advanced without forgiving anyone as they became older with the pass of them. In front of a bonfire a group of mercenaries joined to share their daily dinner; while they ate, they talked about their childhood dreams, what they wanted to become and how they grew up and became who they were today. Some of them had pretty normal families, with not much to tell than how they strayed out from their original plans to follow Greil.

_ Greil _ , he was the shared point in most of their personal stories. 

As the ball of the stories was thrown to Oscar, Boyd and Rolf, the siblings talked for a while about their background, most of them still remembered that time they met the younger brother’s mother and how awkward it had been for a while to let the other members know how difficult their life was. But there was no shame for them to face, it wasn’t their fault. The food and the alcohol —for those who were in age to drink— raised everyone’s spirit, and the conversation extended for a long time, even coming to the young branded man, sitting beside his commander.

Soren didn’t remember much from where he came from. He didn't remember the faces of those who gave him birth, he was ignorant if he had siblings. Only a mark on his forehead was somehow a clue for the sage to know where his possible roots laid; not the most relevant ones when he considered his birth as a branded child, someone cursed with the mixing blood of a Beorc and a Laguz. But as long as he didn’t have any concreted memories from it, he decided it was fine. He was in the only place he could have pictured himself from here to the future.

_ But what other things can you still remember?  _

A woman, an older woman. Soren remembered the sage that took him as his apprentice. A smart woman in the matters of brains, but a dumb one when it was about emotional intelligence. She wasn't the figure someone would want to have as a parent or a role model to follow. Soren was beaten by her hand more than once. He didn’t know how to write, not even how to properly talk, and she abandoned him, entrusting his being —basically selling him— to a sage that used a traditional and forceful way to make him learn how to survive in the world. True, it was thanks to the people of the church that received him after the sage’s death, that he learnt how to verbally communicate, but was it something to be really grateful for? What had he prioritized after being passed hand by hand to others? The practical skill to survive in a world of words or how his perception of loving and caring about others was affected by the strong hand of the reality?

A lot of his insecurities were caused by those people, the same reason he now remembered every single day he passed by her, his and their side.

_ What about your childhood? _

None of the mercenaries had a perfect life, not even Ike and Mist that had to deal with the cursed fate to have the  _ Fire Emblem _ in their hands. They lost their mother due to it, and had to confront the perish of their father as a consequence of the same past. But the difference was that both of them still could smile, be brave and stay stronger than they were before.

“Soren”

If Soren could talk about his childhood or what he considered it was the best part of it, it was to  _ meet Ike _ , and Mist, and Greil and then be part of that kind of dysfunctional family of mercenaries, but more real than any other he could have had before. Thanks to them he learnt about what a family was, also about friendship, about brothers and sisters; talk and write was the first step for him to walk into that world, but what he really understood after following Ike’s footprints was learning how to live and find a  **reason** to do it.

“Soren”

And that reason, without caring if others could judge him, had a bulky body, blue strands of hair and a husky voice.

“Soren!”

“Ah!” Soren looked at the person that was calling him. There was Ike; the commander had been calling him for a while, but the sage was so invested in his own stream of thoughts —nothing new— that he didn’t notice for how long his name resonated in Ike’s mouth.

“Finally!”

“I’m sorry, Ike, I was thinking” What kind of expression he had been putting for Ike to look at him with that much worry?

“That doesn’t matter. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“Why? You haven’t touched your food at all. I thought the conversation was affecting you. Mist went and shutted them up for you” That  _ shutting them up _ was more like the healer asking the rest of them to think about Soren’s feelings and to _ please _ talk about something else.

“Oh”

“Oh?”

“As I said, I’m fine. I was… actually remembering something”

“About what?”

“Childhood”

So it was true Soren was being affected by it! Ike knew it.

“Listen, I’ll tell them to not talk about this again”

“Ike, wait” The sage really appreciated Ike’s effort and consideration for always looking out for someone like him. “It wasn’t something really bad”

It wasn’t? Okay, but Ike still was concerned about it.

“What were you thinking?”

“I don’t remember much of my childhood” As Ike knew it already. The commander nodded to his words, waiting for Soren to continue with the explanation. “Most of them are not good memories” At least before he met them. “I was thinking if it was something worthwhile” 

“Did you find something?”

“There are a few of them, but there is one thing I remember clearly as it was yesterday” Soren took the spoon and ate a piece of potato from his hotpot, it was a little cold but digestible.

“Which one?” Ike took from Soren’s hand the clay bowl and asked Oscar for the change to one warmer.

“ _ It was you” It was always him. _

“Me?”

“I haven’t forgotten that boy that shared his food with me. I didn’t think I deserved it. I wasn’t someone worthy of your worry, but even if it was for pityness, I wanted to meet you again. When I finally saw you again… well, now I think it was thanks to you that those bad memories are passable for me. I was so concentrated in meeting you again and let you know I was grateful for what you did, even if I didn’t know how to express myself… It made me happy.” As happy he could show to someone else. Ike was special, after all. 

“Wow. I didn’t know I did something worthy of your praise. That time I only was thinking it was the right thing to do” But that was just him believing the world was gentler than it actually was.

“No, you really were something else. People don’t like to get close to a branded one. They are scared of us, of what’s different to them. But now I really don’t care. After finding you, it was what I really could count as a good childhood.”

“People are stupid, but… if you feel like that now, I think I have to feel proud of it too” Ike couldn’t stop himself to surround his tactician’s body with one of his arms. 

“Don’t let these things go to your head. We need your mind clear, commander” But today was okay to let themselves be a little free and enjoy their proximity. Soren let his head find support on Ike’s chest.

“I don’t need that much when I have you to think for me” Ike extended his free hand to Mist and received back the bowl Oscar filled before and placed it over Soren’s lap. His sister smiled at them and went back to sit next to Titania in the other bonfire that was lightened up. “Now, eat”

“Again with the food… You never change” Gladly for Ike, he was the only that could admire the way Soren looked at him, with a full gentle smile, and a pair of red-colored cheeks that were easily hidden by the colours of the fire’s light reflection.

“Did you say something, hm?” 

“At all”

_ So, what are your conclusions? _

Soren still hadn’t the courage to confront what his reason of birth caused him, but in retrospect, his life now wasn’t as bad as before. He could meet Ike and be by his side in the present. He was needed, he was cared for. He wasn’t going to romantice what he went through in his childhood, but today, as he was eating a warm plate of food, he wanted to tell his younger self that everything was going to be fine. He found a family, people to care for and, a person that filled his heart with joy.


	2. Fears and dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fear and insecurities, there are a few things that exist in that world that Soren was afraid of, one of those was the constant fear of being left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second day is here and with that, another chapter! Not going to lie, doing short fics is kind od difficult when I want to write a lot of things, but I hope I —at least— made a coherent narration for what I wanted to explain.

Fear and insecurities, there are a few things that exist in that world that Soren was afraid of, one of those was the constant fear of being left alone. At least once a week he created those scenarios in his dreams; one by one the nightmares came to him. Sometimes he pictured the missing feeling of a lost battle, other times Soren found himself surrounded by a deep thick cloud of darkness, with no other person to see. He ran in those dreams escaping from what he feared. 

He ran, ran, ran, ran. 

But nobody was there.

When he extended his arms to find some help, the limbs always ended up being engulfed by the dark itself, leaving nothing more than a fragile boy from his past with nothing left than a scream asking for help.

_ Help, anybody! _

Nobody came, is always him, only him and the eternal darkness.

Those nightmares frequently came before a campaign, a mission of big responsibilities or before a battle. He was well aware from where that fear came; he knew he wasn’t alone anymore since he was part of the Greil’s mercenaries, but sometimes his traumas were stronger than the reality, and his dreams were the reflection of that. But he had to remind himself he wasn’t alone, Ike made sure he always felt good, right and part of that group.

However Soren’s fear wasn’t a thing that came only with the feeling of being  _ physically alone _ . He had the thought that if he started to believe he wasn’t useful for others —for Ike—, he would be disposed of as trash. But that wasn’t him being distrusted of the blue haired man, he knew it better. His commander would never tell him to leave him and go, but the latent fear was never leaving him alone.

_ Fear and hate, that was the only thing he knew for a long time. _

That night —being one of  _ those bad nights— _ , Soren was concentrated reviewing one more time the tactic for the next mission. He made sure it was a perfect strategy, there was no room for error. Perfect, it had to be perfect. At some point, the mage ended up overworking his mind so much he ended falling asleep with the face over the table he usually used for planning. A bad night happened, where a repetitive well-known scenario invaded his mind: Ike decided to leave him to go with the Princess of Crimea, and Soren had to deal with the painful reality that a man like him wasn’t needed anymore.

He screamed, called Ike’s name all the time until his throat dried and he hadn’t a voice anymore.

_ ‘No’ _ , he said.

_ ‘Don’t leave me’ _ , he begged.

‘I promised to be by your side forever’

But his voice couldn’t be heard anymore.

Suddenly, Soren felt a hand touching his shoulder, shaking him, trying to pull him back to the dark.

_ But he still had so much to do. Please, he couldn’t leave like that. _

“No, no… no, no!!” Thanks to a jump he made, Soren almost landed with his butt on the ground. He woke up from his dream and blinked for a while before realizing that was a nightmare again. This time though, he wasn’t alone. By his side was a startled Ike, looking at him as if he was the one that had the bad dream. “Ike…” Before he could apologize, the commander grabbed his tactician by his forearms.

“This is not the first time this happens, right?” Judging the way Ike was looking at him, Soren could easily translate that look as someone telling it was best for him not try to lie.

“I… yes, but they are going to disappear, eventually”  _ Eventually _ . Some day, he prayed, leaving the tactician waiting for them not to become a reality.

“Okay, tomorrow we are paying Rhys a visit”

“What?”

“This is not normal. You were screaming like if you were being killed”

_ Emotionally killed by his own consciousness _ , yes, perhaps.

“It’s not that bad, Ike” As always, Soren wanted to slow down the situation.

“I said it, Soren. We are going to ask Rhys, he could help you with your nightmares” But  _ man _ , how much Ike would have wanted Soren trusted him more and went to him before. Was he a person hard to trust?

“Okay, if that makes you happy” It wasn’t like Soren had much to say against Ike’s wishes.

“Yeah. Now…” The leader made Soren stand up with the hold of his arms. He decided to lead him to rest…

But not to his bed. No, the commander dragged the shorter man outside of the tent, walking right to where his own tent was.

_ Wait, what? _

“Ike, where are we going?” That definitely wasn’t something they talked about before.

“I’m making sure you will stop working before a mission” How many times would he have to tell Soren to stop overworking himself? He could easily hear Soren telling him he was going to do  _ one last review _ to the strategy before sleeping. “And you will sleep. No more nightmares for today, okay?” Now, how was he going to make sure of that? He had no idea, zero, but he still could improvise.

“T-There is not enough space for us to sleep there”, at least not in the conventional way.

“Well, we will have to sleep  **together** , then” Didn’t they do that a lot when they were younger?

“I-Ike, stop. I can actually sleep in my tent and—”

“Nope. I decided it already” And both knew how stubborn he was when he wanted to be.

“...”

Having nothing to argue in that logic —actually, he had a lot to say!!— Soren was dragged in silence to Ike’s tent. There, the blue haired lord made sure the tent’s entrance was enough covered (closed?), and dragged the mage to the corner of the bed, with him laying by his side. That way not only both of them could sleep, but also Ike would make sure Soren wasn’t going to decide to escape when he fell asleep. See? He could also think of good solutions sometimes too.

“Ike…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry”

“What for?”

“Making troubles for you”

“Hey, sometimes it’s a good chance for us to change our positions too. For a chance is not me doing the troubles” Like that, Ike accommodated his body as a big spoon for the smaller man, only that in that case, Soren stayed with his face in front of him.

“I guess so…” Being guided by the warmth feeling, Soren put his head closer to his commander’s heart. He wanted to let the calming beats of it helped him relax again.

“Soren”

“Mm?”

“Have more faith in me”  _ Trust me more with your hardships _ , he wanted to say.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“It seems he felt asleep”

Soren, being still awake but much embarrassed to actually give him a coherent answer, closed his eyes considering the Beorc’s words.

Trust him more? Well, at least for today he wanted to entrust Ike the protection of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and Comments are appreciated!


	3. A cat life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The black cat had never been loved by someone. People chased him, threw things at him. He was an animal of bad luck, they said. Presumptuous, hilarious to think an animal would be the epitome of disgrace. They feared the unknown, gave up to absurd superstitions that had no logic at all.
> 
> ‘I don’t need a home’, thought the cat.
> 
> ‘I’m fine by myself’
> 
> Why would he need a place to stay or someone to care for him? He didn’t need any of those.
> 
> …
> 
> A lie, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's theme is Animals! This time I decided to go with the essence of their canon story, but changing it a little to fit a world where Soren is a cat not wanting to accept he feels alone and need someone by his side.

The black cat had never been loved by someone. People chased him, threw things at him. _He was an animal of bad luck_ , they said. **Presumptuous** **_,_ **hilarious to think an animal would be the epitome of disgrace. They feared the unknown, gave up to absurd superstitions that had no logic at all.

_‘I don’t need a home’_ , thought the cat.

_‘I’m fine by myself’_

Why would he need a place to stay or someone to care for him? He didn’t need any of those.

…

A lie, indeed.

That was a lie he used to convince himself that the only thing he needed in life was his sharp sense of hear, look and smell; only a pair of fangs, eighteen claws and his experience living in the street.

_“Experience? You are only a child”, said a dog once._

_“You are not going to survive alone in the streets”, another cat told him. Cats only had a little bit of luck surviving the difficulties of street life, especially black cats as him._

_Nonsense_. He was fine, he only needed himself.

Yes, only himself.

Only… himself.

He needed to repeat it until he believed it.

“Hey, we meet again!” A blue haired boy talked to the cat from down the wall right the way home. He noticed it was the typical place where recently the feline sunbathed.

The cat looked at him but no sound or move was made. Only a pair of red amber eyes constricted by the sunlight.

“Look, I brought you something” The human took from his back his school tupper where he was saving a piece of chicken specially for him. “This is for you”

“...”

“I’ll leave it here” The human child was tall, it didn’t suppose a task at all for him tiptoeing in front of the wall to leave the meat mere centimeters close to the cat, leaving enough space for not scaring and making him run. “See you then!”, _soon_ , probably.

And then the human left, again.

The unnamed cat approached the food, sniffed it for some before deciding what to do; at that point the guy always came back with food, and the feline already checked it wasn’t poisoned. Since he didn’t eat anything that day, he dug in. It was bad waste food. Also, that was for him, he wasn’t going to let other cats or animals take what’s his. But by no means he ate it because he liked the human. No.

He was a cat that needed no care or love from humans. He was done with that. The scar over his scalp was enough proof of what humans can do to cats.

Why would the boy took so much of his time to just go to him to only say hello and goodbye?

He was a weird one.

At first it was only a thing of once a week or even two weeks, but now? Lately the way the cat knew even the way the guy’s steps sounded was absurd. He learnt his name was Ike, and the human lived with his father and sister not too far from that place. Funny thing was that where they usually met, it wasn’t even a common place for the cat to stay. Now, he started to go regularly, even ignoring the people who wanted to chase him away. 

**Only… to see him again.**

Wait.

Did he say ‘to see him again’?

Perhaps, the human wasn’t as bad as others like him.

• • •

One day a dreadful rain was announced in the news. Apparently spring’s showers were coming before the usual., something about climate change was the cause. Ike looked to the window, but the landscape looked normal, beautiful, like yesterday antd the day before that. Were the new rights or what? It wasn’t the first time that they made a mistake about rains and temperature, but due it was a possibility, the boy looked in the direction where he and the kitty usually met. Would he be alright? Maybe the cat was already waiting for him to go and give him some food.

“I wonder if what they are saying is real” Ike’s sister, a young woman of short light brown hair and blue eyes, was looking at the same place where his brother’s eyes were glued. “Ike, do you think _your_ cat is going to be fine?” It wasn’t a secret for her to know about the cat.

“I don’t know. Maybe I should go and make sure if he is there”

“I can accompany you! I’m worry of you going alone”

“We still don’t know if the climate is going to change. Let’s wait”

“... Okay”

As everyone knew, climate news weren't exactly accurate all the time; sometimes they announced it right and sometimes they didn't, for the bad luck of the humans, today was one of the days they were right. Two hours later from the siblings’ conversation, black clouds started to reunite, hiding the sun and menacing to paint the skies grey. By the time Ike and Mist were going outside, the rain was incontrolable and ponds were already accumulating on the streets. Both humans ran to the _meeting place_ where Ike always greeted the black cat, but how predictable, nobody was there.

“Damn! Of course he wasn’t going to be here”

“Let’s see if he is in the surroundings!”

_Pspsps-ing_ at him, calling him names, they stayed for a while searching for the kitty who didn’t appear anywhere.

Was he fine?

Where did he hide?

Where was him?

The answer came from an alley, when a scared and weak _meow_ alerted Ike that someone was there.

“Kitty?” The blue haired boy started to run in the direction, calling him again, hearing for the first time as clear as he could, a response coming from him.

“Meow…”

“Oh, there you are”

“Meow”

“Damn, you are wet already. Come here…” Ike extended his hand for him to come. It was a change of pace for them having the cat looking up at the other being. He was feeling so tiny and indefensed. He realized how young he was and how much he was crawling for protection.

The creature started to walk outside from his hiding place, with difficult moves —since the water felt awkward under his paws— he went to find guard in the human’s legs. A soft but tensed purring could be heard.

“There you go. You finally trust me, uh?” Who would have thought that the high wall of defense of the cat only needed some water to let him be cared for. “Come home with us”, and since there wasn’t any protest against that wish, Ike lifted the kitty sheltering him inside his coat. There he was going to be safe.

Ike came back to get Mist, and the siblings walked back to their home.

“Do you think dad is going to let us keep him?”

“If _you_ ask him, probably the answer is going to be yes”

“I’ll do my best then!” Mist looked at the little ball of fur than only had his head peeking out from the warming fabric. “Would he want to stay with us?”

“I guess only time would say it”

“Yes… Oh! I think he needs a name”, since calling him ‘the black cat’ and ‘kitty’ was starting to frustrate her. He needed a personality!

“What about… _‘Meow’_?” In his head that was an easy way to remember a name.

“Ike! Ugh, you are the worst!” Mist gave him a slap on his forearm. “That is not going to work”

“What you suggest, then?”

“Um, what about… ‘Soren’?” She remembered reading that name when she was yesterday searching names for a character for her online video game.

“‘Soren’? Well, that actually sounds better than ‘Meow’” Without doubts. “Soren, then”

The siblings and their little company finally came back home, and the first thing they did was cleaning and drying Soren. The small cat for the first time was feeling what love was, the love of someone to him. Thanks to that, he decided that day that _maybe_ humans weren’t that bad, or at least those who sheltered him, especially the blue haired one.

Making sure Soren was comfortable in his room, Ike went to take a shower. The cat waited curling in one of the room’s corners, next to his —now— bowl with water, some chicken in a plate and an improvised litter box filled with leaf mold from Mist’s garden. The human came back after some minutes, looking fresh and more warm than when he was outside under the rain.

“You can come to the bed, you know?” Could the cat understand him? He didn’t know, but it was worth the try.

Soren stayed in the corner for a while, feeling foreign to that environment, looking from his spot to where the human was sitting; the bed, it looked comfortable and warmer than the floor. Was alright for him to try to be part of that family? He didn’t completely understand the meaning of that word. But he wanted to find it out. After Ike laid under the sheets, way busy looking at the mobile screen, a small, almost imperceptible weight jumped to the bed, walking at the human’s direction.

“Hey, came to sleep?”

“Meow”, answered the kitty, who continued his adventure to him, feeling courageous, conquering the place as it always was a place for him to be. Soren walked over Ike’s body and decided to curl between his neck and shoulder. That was a safe and warm place for a small body to stay.

“I guess that’s a yes” He stroked the cat’s fur.

The cozy sensation ended dragging both of them to the sleep land. For the first time, Soren didn’t have to worry about finding a place to sleep, not being attacked by other cats or dogs, nor if he was going to be able to find something to eat next day. From that moment he was a member of that family.

And you know what? He wouldn’t mind staying there for the rest of his feline life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and Kudos are always appreciated


	4. Prince of Daein

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That day he was grateful for meeting the boy that gave him food, the first —and only— taste of kindness someone showed him in his life. For once, he was glad to be noticed by someone. After that encounter, Soren made a search only to meet him again; he crossed Gallia, Phoenicis, with his journey ending back again in Daein, the place he forgot it was where he was born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... planned for this to be a cute AU at first, but the devil in me said no, no, no. And this is what happened. Hope you can enjoy it anyway, with sadness and saltyness in there uwu <3

That day he was grateful for meeting the boy that gave him food, the first —and only— taste of kindness someone showed him in his life. For once, he was glad to be noticed by someone. After that encounter, Soren made a search only to meet him again; he crossed Gallia, Phoenicis, with his journey ending back again in Daein, the place he forgot it was where he was born. All that time he found himself learning new things, but none of them by a gentle soul. Thanks to the church he learnt how to write, how to talk; thanks to the sage he learnt the art of magic. As fast the wind ran, he became an adept at its magic skill. Also, something inside of him started to grow, latent, waiting to be waken up. What was it? How was it that feeling was a familiar sensation but at the same time, a completely new experience?

It was fire, it was the flame of his ancestors. He ran, ran, ran. His insides told him to go back to Daein. 

That’s how his journey led him there again.

Without anybody known, without nowhere to run, he extended his hand to the first person who showed him half of the amability the blue haired boy showed him once; that ‘gentle hand’ was of a woman.

“Well, well, look what we have here” The voluptuous woman gave him bread crumbs, just to proceed to grab the child by his wrists, lifting him in front of her eyes. The boy was so thin. “A branded? What are you doing here, child?” But her sharp sense of suspicion made her focus her eyes right in the mark decorating the branded’s forehead.  _ Wait,  _ she knew exactly where she saw that brand before. “ _ The queen _ . Now I know how lucky I am, indeed” She didn’t need anymore for the child to answer her questions.

Just what she really needed.

“Uh” Soren did his best trying to talk to the woman, but not only he failed the attempt, he ended sneezing, a flame went directly to the woman’s cape.

“Aren’t you an interesting one?” She was pretty sure the child was the one her king decided to dispose of because of how unuseful he was. If only he could see what she saw. And maybe she decided to show him the surprise. “Come with me, there is something you would be interested, I assure you, he, he”

Moved by the curiosity and promise of a better life —maybe that way he could find soon his saviour boy—, he followed her. He wanted to know if he had a place where to be part of.

“Why are you back with this good for nothing?” Ashnard asked her. The king of Daein didn’t have time or an interest for a son that didn’t have any kind of power. It was really better for the kid to be counted as missing, as dead. Not only he wasn’t useful for his plans, the real reason for him marrying the princess of the Goldoa tribe was a loss of time; his wife lost her powers too. Only his mount was the good thing happening there. Pathetic, everything was pathetic in front of his eyes.

“My king, I assure you, what I have to tell you is going to be of your interest” The woman, Petrine, kneeled in front of her ruler.

“HA! Entertain me, then”  _ It really was better to be good. _

And so she did. She told Ashnard what she saw, showing him the proof of her burnt cape, and only by a sneeze. Could he imagine what the child could do with just a little bit of…  **pressure?**

“My king, it seems not all was lost. If you let me train him, expose his real potential, I’m sure he was going to be the prince you dreamed of”

Thanks to the proof and the good use of her words, Petrine found Ashnard in such a good mood. The mad king let her with a dried  _ ‘do what you want with him’ _ to show him what’s that real power inside Soren. Ashnard was in no need of a kid that only could sneeze fire. He wanted a strong prince, someone worthy to be called  _ son of Ashnard. _ He didn’t care at all about the branded stuff; if the mix of species and races led to a profitable result, by all means he was tempted to try everything.  _ Everything _ . 

_ Poor Almedha _ , the woman would have a broken heart if she knew that her  _ missing  _ son was going to be under the wing of the same woman that ruined her family, that created what her dear brother Rajaion was today.

How is that her family ended being part of those crazy powering experiments? Such a cruel fate.

Of course, thought Petrine, there was no need for the queen to know it yet. No. Only when the child was molded, manipulated, explored and exploited into his best potential is that when he was going to be shown again.

“Ha, ha, ha! How fun is this going to be” There was no doubt in her mind.

That training was, how one could expect, hard. Soren was physically and magically to his maximal potential. A full transformation for a branded like him couldn’t be performed perfectly, but it was worth the try. But since it didn’t lead to the best result, he still developed his powers as someone with royal dragon blood running through his veins. The influence of Petrine’s experimentations were a relevant part in the training and how even scales made their way in the boy’s skin. But details, only details for the woman. She was creating making the boy exactly what she dreamed of a laguz. Who would have thought that a branded was the real key behind her experiments?

Not only Soren’s body changed, it wasn’t only a physical change, but also something changed inside his heart. His mental sanity was clouded by Petrine’s words. He was heavily educated under the flag and motivation of their king; once, twice, million of times until that was everything inside his head.

Now in his head only thoughts of him being glad to be honored on being Ashnard’s son, on being the crown prince surrounded him. There was no future for him if it wasn’t like that; no one could have a bright future as him.

What could be better than that?

How lacking in care, love and attention Soren was that he was so easily manipulated and converted in what exactly they wanted.

And how about his dreams and yearns to meet again the only person that led him a genuine hand?  _ Ah,  _ Soren would meet him eventually.

Just some years later…  


• • •

  
  


The Greil’s mercenaries, after losing his leader, had to be reforged, raised from zero with a good hearted leader, but someone that lacked experience in that area and having someone else to help him in not acting by what his heart and emotions dictated. He lacked a mind of a tactician worth of being praised for what they did. But somehow, they conquered and made it so far to where they standed up now. When they seized the road guarded by Ena, the mercenaries advanced to the throne room, only to be welcomed not only by Ashnard itself, but also by the prince of Daein.

“A prince?  _ Dang _ , how is that we didn’t know that?” Ike looked at the young long haired man, who for a fleeting moment seemed too similar to him from an almost forgotten past.

“I see you made it until here”, said the King, giving his son a touch on his shoulder, making pressure right there where it met with his arm. “Go,  _ son. _ Why don’t you show your father how worthy you are of being Ashnard’s son, giving them a  _ warming _ welcome?”

When red eyes and blue eyes met, a smile was painted on the prince’s lips. So there he was. Not even trying to find him again; how curious destiny was.

“So is you. Who would have thought we would meet again”

Ike, of course, was surprised by what he was hearing and looking. Who was him?

“I guess it’s fine. Time has passed and faces are easily forgotten” Not to him, though. The prince of Daein walked, making his steps echo in that big hall. The rest of the mercenaries were alerted, ready to attack anyone —especially that guy— that wanted to touch their commander’s hair. 

But Ike stopped them.

“Who are you?”

“Me?” Raising his hand, Soren got a hold of his chin, pensative. “Once, there was a boy forgotten by the earth. Hated for not being Beorc, chased because he wasn’t a Laguz. He didn’t know how to talk, how to communicate, but there was someone, a young blue haired boy, that lent him a hand and a piece of food” The way Ike’s expression was mutating with every word said, let Soren know he was remembering that past too. “But suddenly he disappeared, never seen again”, even though he said he was coming back. “But the gentle boy did go missing, leaving the branded child alone”  **Alone again** . “The branded child searched for him for a while, but the boy was never found. Finally his journey led him back to Daein, where he found he was the long forgotten prince of the place. He was taken, brutally trained until he reached his full potential, leaving him with no choice but to become the vivid image of his father” He, Soren, crown prince of Daein. Somehow his words sounded salty, hurt, lost. Was he fine with what he became?  _ No _ . Of course, no. Nobody had the idea of how many scars adorned his pristine and pale skin, how many difficulties he had to pass through.

It wasn’t Ike’s fault, but didn't he appear? Soren expected much for someone who was as young as he was that time. He pictured his saviour as someone who would have given hope to him if they met again. And now, there was nothing he could do about it.

“You never appeared…”

“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t know that happened to you” Of course, a good hearted man as he was, was going to empathize with his story. “But if you want to choose right, this is the time. You can come with us, you don’t need to choose this massacre and madness of your father. I’m here now, right?” He extended the hand for him to grab.

But Soren didn’t grab it.

“Are you kidding me? Do you think that means something now?” Soren walked to stand right in front of him, raising his hands, holding the face of the man. “I waited for so long, but you never came. It’s true, now you are here… let’s cross baldes, commander Ike” Soren smiled with a pathetic expression, trying to control the latent angryness he was keeping for all that time. He believed he was a lost cause. “Let me show you the power of Daein’s best tactician, let me do that for you” His thumb caressed the man’s skin, ending wounding him with his nail. “Hope you can be as strong as they say you are when we meet in battle. Don’t disappoint me.”

Leaving him, Soren went back to his last spot, preparing to give the orders to attack them. But before saying his last words, he slowly licked the thumb that still had the blood of Ike’s cheek, staining his lips with it.

“Are you ready, Ike?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	5. Birthday Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If someone asked him if he knew how to cook, his immediate answer would be no, he didn’t. He knew that following recipes and orders wasn’t different from what he did in battle, especially when in the second it was he the one that made the follow-up order. If that was the case, would he be a bad cook? He would likely say no. Better than Oscar? Not, the knight had angel’s hands. But decent? Yeah, probably way better than Mist. No offense to the healer, but she didn't set the bar too high for him. The only reason he didn’t try learning before was that Soren already had a task he did well, splendid, so nobody would ask him to cook. Moreover, if he decided to put it in his list of stuff to actually cook for others, not only Titania would scold him, the commander himself would do it.
> 
> But that day, he decided it was finally the day he found a reason to cook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooooo! I'm back with fluff times, hope you enjoy Soren learning to cook just wanting to surprise his commander ♥

If someone asked him if he knew how to cook, his immediate answer would be no, he didn’t. He knew that following recipes and orders wasn’t different from what he did in battle, especially when in the second it was he the one that made the follow-up order. If that was the case, would he be a bad cook? He would likely say no. Better than Oscar? Not, the knight had angel’s hands. But decent? Yeah, probably way better than Mist. No offense to the healer, but she didn't set the bar too high for him. The only reason he didn’t try learning before was that Soren already had a task he did well,  _ splendid _ , so nobody would ask him to cook. Moreover, if he decided to put it in his list of stuff to actually cook for others, not only Titania would scold him, the commander himself would do it.

Ike was a master in reminding him he needed to work less and rest more, work less and have some hobby, work less and... well, the logic was understood. 

Then, why was he asking permission to enter Oscar's tent that late in the night? He wanted to ask a favour, but at the same time that thing should remain as a secret. It was a surprise, but at the same time a way to protect his intentions. He knew the green haired man was someone of no gossiping and not judging others’ motivations, so when he asked him about this particular favour, Oscar gladly accepted, and the only question he made to him was:

"When you want to learn?"

"As soon as possible", meant this maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.

"Sure, leave it to me!"

Why the rush? One could ask, Ike’s birthday was coming soon. He knew that maybe the royal family of Crimea or maybe the people of Gallia would want to celebrate a big big celebration for the lord, but Soren still wanted to make something significant for him.  _ ‘I don't really need anything more than you staying today with me’ _ was what Ike told him once. But it didn't feel right. Soren was literally by his side all the year —all the years—, it didn't have a significant meaning when it was about his commander’s birthday. He made a list of possible gifts, but considering the time he had to learn something, cooking was the most fast and plausible option for him.

The day Oscar decided to be the one perfect for them to learn —exactly the same day a big part of them were on a mission— came. A considerate thought from part of the knight if Soren had to be grateful for him for more than what he was doing already. Then putting hands to work, they started learning the basics. Cutting potatoes could have been the most difficult task for him to do, considering he wasn't not a master nor a novice using sharp objects. He was less than the last, he was like a baby. Yes, a baby learning the art of... cutting potatoes. Ok, maybe it was better to change topics there. 

The first thing Soren learned to do was an hotpot. Again, the cutting part was the most difficult one, but not expecting to surprise any prince or royalty, he did a pretty decent work. Even Oscar considered it good for being his first time; the crimean knight has seen many others failing before.

"But I don't think this is good food for a birthday, right?"

"Well, I’m sure the commander is not that picky with his meals" As long the man had some kind of carnic protein, it seemed Ike was actually fine with that.

"But I'm still trying to do something great for him… something unique" It didn’t matter if it was carnic or sweet, cooking or baking.

"Let’s think about things together”, he offered, but also, Oscar had something more to tell him. “Anyway, Soren, I'm glad you have the trust in telling me this" by his own will. Like Oscar didn’t ask anything? And still Soren trusted the secret to him. 

"W-well..."  _ Oh no _ , he stuttered, such a lame decision. "I'm just trying to return all what he has done for me until now. But this is not the best I can do"  _ Overexerting _ was the principle of Soren’s life, being honest. If he did not push himself to make something perfect he wasn't going to feel victorious. And being Ike the object of his appreciation, it was the least he could do. He wanted to be perfect for him

Well, not him as he, Soren. More like the gift.

Yes.

That.

"There’s still a week before his birthday, right? If you give me some days I can actually get a recipe for something special. Of course, we can still continuing practicing into polishing your skills"

Actually, bless Oscar. They didn't talk that much, they still were more like comrades than friends, but they still were in that same weird family that the mercenaries were. He was so glad and grateful for him helping. 

" **_Please_ ** "

Just as Oscar said, days passed with the two of them practicing, perfecting skill and all what came with the knowledge. Even Ike noticed that one day he threw the question to Soren, it was just mere curiosity, of course. But since it was a secret, Soren aired the question with just a simple answer: they were looking together for a recipe to make the meals more nutritious and strong for them in order to survive when missions were too long, just as what they were starting to be after the fall of Daein and the reconstruction of the social communication between countries and the empire itself. Ike didn't find any lack in his logic and he trusted what Soren told him. Not that he wanted to go showing he was feeling a little jealous of the time Soren was sharing with Oscar, instead of him. After all, a big part of him wanted for his tactician to be more open with the rest of the mercenaries.

Talking about closeness with others, after one or two days of researching, Oscar came with the solution for Soren’s struggles.

"I contacted someone of my old days as a crimean knight, and this is a sweet we usually served when special occasions happen" he thought that it was perfect in what Soren needed for making it for Ike.

"A cake..." Soren read what the note said. He didn't know what a cake was in principle. But he trusted in the cook’s decision, so he accepted and they decided that Soren —with a big help from Oscar— would prepare it for their commander's birthday.

Somehow, they ended up telling Mist about it, but since the girl knew she wasn't going to be any help in that task, she offered her help to take Ike and distract him in the morning of the special day until they had everything prepared. In one way or another, Rolf ended helping them too, since someone needed to tell Mist when she had to bring her brother back. Gladly, for the sake of Soren's embarrassment, the words didn't jump to any other member. It was a secret bigger than what he wanted, but still of only four people. That was good at least.

The day came and everything went exactly as they planned, except that Ike wasn't exactly convinced in the idea of accompanying his sister to shop in the town. He wasn't expecting to celebrate his birthday —like he generally remarked every year since Greil’s death—, but going to shop that early? That wasn't his best plan. He just wanted to take Soren and have him for himself for the rest of the day. But no, he was there, already helping with some fabric bag, carrying potatoes. Happy birthday to him, he supposed.

From the side where the lair of the mercenaries was, Soren was helped by Oscar and his younger brother to tie up his hair, put some kind of an white apron, ending being ready to prepare the so called cake. Mixing the flour and the butter they made a gooey but dried dough —was that possible?—, it wasn't the best thing but it looked similar to bread. Point there. They added the eggs, the sugar and beat them together until what seemed to be a solid dough was made. Soren took the bowl and left the mix of ingredients to fall in the can that would go to the oven. Their oven wasn't the most new, less rich one, but a good one that always helped them since the times that place was more like a house for Greil, Elena and their kids. It was a place full of warming emotions, so Soren wanted to make a tribute to them too making Ike happy. He wondered if his mother —Ike’s— would have been glad to see him cooking for her son? Or touching his hand? Or even... kissing him.

"Soren?"

"Ah, yes… I'm sorry" He blinked twice and looked at the pair of green haired siblings. "What now?"

"The filling!", said Rolf. "Yesterday I went with Mist to recollect these!" The teenager showed a rattan basket full of wild berries. Blackberries and raspberries were those called?

"That's a good solution, thanks Rolf" The cook patted his brother’s shoulder and gave Soren the basket. "Would you mind taking care of these?" He believed that while Soren did the most, the magician himself would be proud of what they prepared.

"Of course" Soren cleaned, smashed and thanks to the power of his arcana magic, he lightened the burner to prepare a sauce with the fruits, a fill with enough density to not escape when the biscuits were joined in a tower of cooked dough.

Oscar applauded him for how great that looked, and even tasted incredible, so the efforts and classes were paying it with a solid baking and controlled expectation. After a while, Soren left both the pot with the filling and the cake well baked to rest for a while. 

"Sadly, we didn't get enough cream for both the filling and the covering, but i apparted some of the fruit to decorate the cake”, thanks to Oscar again, and his big brain when it was about food.

Incredibly they made it in good time, and the cake looked… great? A little floppy, inclined to one side, but good overall? Also, judging by Rolf eating the cream leftovers, that one tasted more than decent. So far so good, Soren did a better job from what he actually thought he would make in just a few days of learning and practicing. Thanks Oscar to that, and Rolf for going to the closer town to get Ike and Mist, of course, to Mist for maintaining distracted Ike.

Thirsty minutes later, the siblings came back. They were carrying —Ike was carrying— a lot of bags. Mist didn't tell him before, but actually Ike ended up buying with her all the ingredients Oscar was going to use for the birthday dinner at night.

"Wait what? Am I seriously buying my own stuff?"

"I'm sorry Ike! But we have a surprise for you right now!" His sister started to push him to walk to the dinner hall, where Soren was waiting for him, with cake in hands and cheeks matching the color of his eyes.

"Soren?" Guided by his curiosity and the dearling image of his partner, Ike walked to him, looking at what he had in hands. "A cake?" Of course he knew the thing for when he lived in Gallia, next to Crimea with his father. 

"Yes, a cake..." What should he do? Or tell him?

"Did you make this?" Because it looked great. "I didn't know you could bake"

"Well, I guess I have to thank Oscar for this. I was thinking a way to surprise you, and this was the only thing I could thought"

"Aw, I told you you didn't have to do anything, but I'm glad for you doing it anyway" Ike’s finger went to the cream that was escaping from the sandwich made from both upper and down parts of the biscuit. He took it to his mouth and licked it. "Hey, this taste amazing"

"Ike..."

"Yes?"

"Happy birthday"

"Thank you for baking this for me" and for being there by his side all those years.

Ike went and gave a kiss on Soren’s lips.

"Taste sweet" Yes, he did a good job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	6. Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His reason to come and see the game wasn't exactly because he liked basketball, no. His motivation had a name and was the captain of the team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today I offer you a short drafts about jock and nerd ship <3, hoping you like it.

The short man walked through his way around the gym of the school. That wasn't a usual place for him to be there; his clothes, his appearance in general contradicted the ones that passed their training time everyday. Eyes were glued on him, what a guy carrying a lot of books was doing in the college gym? So thin, so short; it didn't seem he had the ability nor the body to be part of some team. They were right, he wasn't there because of that.

Ignoring the eyes and words talking about him, he continued his way to sit in the gallery. There was still time before the start of the next game. It was the school's team, ‘ _ The Mercenaries’ _ versus their rival ‘ _ Cats of Gallia _ ’. It was always a show to see, the reason why the boy came before others filled the gym and couldn’t have a good look at the match. He came all along from another of the college faculties. So time was precious for him. He sat in the first line, and opened one of the notebooks he carried with him. There was the lineup of the team. Basketball always had an appeal to him, since he was in indirect contact with the sport as a kid. But Soren never was interested in knowing how to play it, but definitely it had its appeals to watch it.

Today wasn't the exception. But his reason to come and see the game wasn't exactly because he liked basketball, no. His motivation had a name and was the captain of the team.

"Soren!!" The voice of a girl called him. Mist, the highschooler ran to sit by his side, being followed by Rolf, Mist’s best friend and younger brother of one of the team members. 

"Morning. I see you made it" 

"We have to run from the subway station, but aaaa! Stupid big brother, he could have wake me before he came here" But no, she had to hurry to see her stupid brother playing, dragging Rolf in the motion.

"There's still time, though" Soren, the man being like another older brother to the girl, let both of them sit by his side.

Between chats and trivial mentions, the time for the game was coming soon. Where would Ike be, though? Soren brought with him something Ike forgot in his house yesterday. Would he be able to give it to him?

The answer? Yes.

After looking for him for a while, a tall and bulky figure ran to them, already dressed with the team's uniform. He not only looked like the captain he was, but also freaking handsome.

"Big bro!" Mist made a gesture for him to go there. "Where were you?!"

"Sorry, I was kinda nervous. I needed to calm down before coming" He looked in Soren’s direction, looking at how cute he looked with that green turtleneck sweater. He didn't know how much he was blessed to be that man's boyfriend. "Soren, did you bring it?"

"Yes, it's here" Soren extended the object to him, a bandana for the sweat. But instead of Ike taking the item, he grabbed Soren’s wrist and pulled him to stand up. "Wha—?"

"I’m borrowing him for a few minutes. Need to talk” Before anyone was going to say something or yell at him again, he dragged Soren outside of the gym, away from the eyes of others. There they went under a tree, and Ike smiled at him.

"What you needed to ask? You need to go back soon" 

"I know. I just wanted to see you before the game" Because he was so nervous,  _ man _ . He believed Soren was going to give him some kind of luck if he talked with him before the match.

"Ike..." He sighed heavily, but a smile formed in his lips. What would he do with that big bear of a man as boyfriend? Soren spreaded his arms and let Ike hugged him, giving circle moves around his back. "You'll do amazing. Kick Ranulf’s ass" In a friendly way —or not that friendly—, as both captains were good friends. 

"I'll dedicate you the victory"

"Cliché and cheesy. But I'll accept it" He released the embrace and went to raise his arms to attach the bandana in Ike’s head. Of course, this couldn't have been done if Ike didn’t bend before to make his job easy. He was so short and Ike so tall. 

"Thanks" He stood up and gave a peek on his lips. "Let's come back then"

"Okay"

After that morning and with a fought victory, Ike fulfilled his words, not only dedicating his victory to his boyfriend, but also raising him in a bride style, carrying him to the court, making him be part of the team, kissing him in front of the audience and later, celebrating in private what they achieved that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! comments and kudos are appreciated


	7. Never say goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How many years have passed? How many tears have been shed?
> 
> How many visits to the same place he did? Once, twice, all over again?
> 
> How is that with the passing of the years he did not forget the face, the sound of his voice, the way his arms felt around his body?
> 
> It was difficult to convey emotions when you have no more tears to give until the next time you visit his grave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last day of IkeSorenweek 2021! I'm feeling so emotional over the fact I could give my grain of sand to this couple. IkeSoren had been dear for me for more than 10 years, so it really made me happy be part of this this year.
> 
> Thanks for coming to read until the last day ♥ I appreciated

How many years have passed? How many tears have been shed?

How many visits to the same place he did? Once, twice, all over again?

How is that with the passing of the years he did not forget the face, the sound of his voice, the way his arms felt around his body?

It was difficult to convey emotions when you have no more tears to give until the next time you visit his grave.

Every year he went and told him an anecdote of where they were together. He never talked about the present, he never told him about his dreams and wishes for the future. He just went to tell him if he remembered the time when they met under that tree and he gave him his first taste of real kindness.

Next year he went and asked him if he remembered when they met again after years of searching for him.

The year after that he asked him if he remembered the time they visited his parents’ graves and he introduced him to his mother. Did she ever tell him if she liked him? He hoped the answer was yes.

Then again he went to the grave and told him about that time when he was so aggressive against Laguz that he had to learn how to behave and grow up over the darkness on his heart.

"Much I have learnt since that time" He now lived among others beings like him, branded that found a place in that world after the rexon truxton of what were the communication and trust between races and species.

Talking about that, would he remember when after defeating Ashera, they took their perteneces and went together on a new journey? Just the two of them. No one else. Just Ike and him.

"I laugh when I remember that time when you broke the axe we just bought for our home" He shaked his head and laughed. It was just when they decided that place surrounded by nature and a close lake, was perfect for them to settle down. The first thing they did was buy an axe to chop the wood.  **And Ike broke it.** In the first try. It was something that made Soren laugh for the rest of the day. And even today he laughed over that.

He was sure the axe wasn't well made and not only was Ike’s fault brute strength, but it was a well memory to share in days like that one.

Like that one... Did Ike know he only visited him once a year now? At first he went there every day. Every single day. The sands of time took him by an old age, meanwhile Soren only looked a little older of what he was when they went together to their journey. A natural thing to happen to Beorcs; a blessing and a curse. As much as Soren’s expansion of life. He would surely see all of the people that were his acquaintance, companions, friends and loved ones ripped to the breath of life —if he hadn't already presenciate the dead of a lot of them already. His born circumstances only made him come back once to the home of his mother.

Would Ike like to know he now was in contact with her?

No, no. Stop. That wasn't what he decided to do. Only the past, only what they went through together. Those were the only memories he needed to tell him.

But the thing was that he was thirsty to tell him how things were now he was alone. What he has learnt, how much he has grown from what he was before. Not only emotional, not only psychologic. He was even taller than before. Not that much, but he actuaLly grew at least five centimeters... _ Ugh _ , Soren, stick to the original plan. Please.

**Please.**

"You are here again, I see" A pair of heterochromic eyes appeared in the branded man’s direction. The feline of Gallia was there accompanied by nor only by his king, but also by Lethe and Mordecai too.

Those fours looked as always. Predictable. When Soren saw them it was like almost going back in time. There, all of them looked the same as always, but the grave in front of them reminded him that everything was nothing more than an illusion.

"You came earlier this year"

"Our childish king didn't want to cross paths with the birds. They had a little fight and he still isn't over it.  _ What a boy _ " The cat was called out by Skrimir. The red lion stated it was never his fault, but of those old kings always making fun of him.

"The Beorc would have probably found a way to shut them and have peace, right?" The Girl still remembered how Ike was a man so charismatic that even the Laguz kings had the respect they only had to others like them.

"Yes..." Soren made himself to a side to let the cats do what they came to do that day. 

One by one, they paid their respect to the men gone by some years already. Then they transformed to go back to Gallia. The road wasn’t long from Crimea. Ranulf was the only want that stayed for a while, before going back.

"You know. I know you knew him from before and most from any other of us. But you have to let it go. You have a good life. I know Stefan is not Ike and not the company you would have chosen for the rest of your life. But Soren, I'm pretty sure Ike couldn’t want you to be stopped in time. You have to confront the reality, I assure you won't forget him just because you continue with your life." 

"I know", but could he really be okay with that? Soren never projected himself more than what was staying by Ike’s side. In some way he wanted to believe that someday his human's blood was going to take him and let him grow old together. But it didn't happen. 

"I know you know. Well, that's all I wanted to say. Hope to see you visiting Gallia soon. Skrimir is always complaining, but you know he valued you as much as we do'' Touching Soren’s shoulder, a second later, the gallian was transformed back to his feline form. Leaving Soren with a lot to think.

The rest of the visits were similar to the one of the gallians. Hawks, herons, some beorcs they met after their journey started and that went growing as older their life permitted. Soon those too were going to be caught by the time. 

Maybe the last of the visits was the most significant for him, not because he liked the person, as she always was an obstacle for them in the past, or because how their lives were so different despite the fact they were both branded ones.

"You didn't need to come again" Soren recognised the aura of the woman before he even met her eyes.

"I know, but commander Ike was someone of great importance to what our world is today.'' The woman, queen of Daein, silver-haired maiden, walked with grace moves, carrying a big bouquet of white flowers, to where the grave and the half dragon was. "I hope you don't mind me bringing these" 

"It's fine. Time has passed. I have understood why Ike saw you in such a good esteem. You only were doing what was right for your people '', and all of them —Soren included— did things of doubting precedence. So, the years really helped them to understand each other a bit.

"Commander Ike was a man ahead of what those times were'' Micaiah placed the flowers by the ones others left before her. "But today I haven't come only to pay my respects." She smiled gently at him. 

"What other thing would you have come for?"

"You. I believe we have similar backgrounds... I know we had not the best start at first but, Soren, we both loved people that left us a long time before..." and she knew the man was trapped in the fear of letting Ike go. "We never really forget what we lived with our dearest ones. Your fears are justificated, but doing this is not good for you either"

"Is only coming once a year not enough for all of you?" Really? Why all of them wanted so hard to make him to be apart from ike. He was just there once a year, not every day like before.

"This is not about your visits. I visit Sothe’s grave every morning", as his grave was in the Daein castle, as he was the prince by her side as queen. "Is about what's happening in your heart" The queen walked to where Soren was and asked permission for touch right where his heart was. "Soren, there are a lot of years for us ahead. Think about how you want to live them. You can still care him, love Ike as much you did when he was alive. But you can let him stay  _ here _ …”,  _ in his heart. _ "Instead of a fallen memory of what the past was, let him go to the future as your motivation and the reason to live. Became the one you want to be ' Micaiah let part of her line of heron ascende passed through the man's body, surrounding him in a warming whitelight. Soren felt relaxed by her words and abilities.

"I..."

“It’s okay if you don't know what to do now, or about what you want to choose. But these are my good regards for you, from one branded to another. I know our paths collided for a while, but know that I believe we all have a chance to go and construct the future that's best for us" That's what she could give him. A part of her, as someone that had more in common with him than with anybody else.

"... Thanks. I, uh, appreciated it" Soren’s emotion failed him once, making him shed tears, the sadness that did not appear for some years already. "Ugh... I, I’m sorry, I'll be fine" But the shrunken body of the man that fell on the floor was embraced by the gentle arms of the Daein’s queen.

A song was what calmed the heart of the branded man. A galdr offered to all that left them before, an hymn for the future for all that was left behind. A prayer to the one that loved Soren for so long, and a harmony for the one that cried on her arms. 

_ Never forget what's dear to you _

After some time, Soren calmed and thanked the woman for what she did. Maybe it was what he really needed but was too afraid for others to mention, but Micaiah, he wanted to believe it or not, had the magic touch to get into other's hearts, and it wasn't just because of the herons blood in their veins.

Both branded said their goodbyes, leaving Soren again alone in front of the grave of his loved one. He felt weak, but he tried to give himself the courage to surpass the fear. Maybe Micaiah was right and taking Ike with him in his heart was the best option he had.

_ "Ike... do you know that I talk with my mother now?" _

**_He had so much to talk to him now._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! All the kudos and comments are always appreciated! ٩(◕‿◕)۶


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